Compromise? Never!!!

We noticed a long time ago that a great many people are painfully aware of having “violated” or compromised their most dearly held value system.  In our counseling and coaching conversations, many have agonizingly shared that they have departed from some of their most treasured and deeply held principles of living.  It’s not as uncommon as one might think, too.

Even in Biblical literature we read of the Apostle Paul’s struggles with this as he writes

I don’t understand what I am doing.  For I do not do what I want – instead I do what I hate.  (NET Bible)

Why is this so common?  Why does this happen even among men and women who are committed to a deep faith and a lifestyle marked by integrity?  We’ve discovered at least three of the top reason why people are so prone to being as easily drawn from their most sincerely held and even well-developed values.

First, we don’t have them in written form.  We found some great research that indicates that only about 3% of key leaders in America write down their goals or value system.  Amazingly, the 3% who DO write them control a large percentage of the wealth in America!

Second, we don’t do regular self-checks or “pulse-taking.”  Even among people who have written goals and values, many tuck them neatly into a drawer somewhere.  It is rare to find someone who can succinctly tell you what they’ve written…or even which drawer they stuck their goals into.

Third, we don’t have anyone who walks alongside us as a mentor or someone to whom we have made ourselves accountable.  Another interesting thing we noted in our C2H research and development is that in the world of pro sports and even in the entertainment industry, athletes and entertainers spend large sums of money on swing coaches and dialect coaches, but rarely empower one or two people to “ask them hard questions” regarding their lifestyle.

Indeed, we named our program “Champions 2 Heroes (C2H) because we know of scores of people in almost every walk of life who have “Champion” potentials and abilities, but yet, who often make life-altering decisions that ultimately prevent them from ever reaching what we think of as “Hero” status.  We have devoted more than 3 years to research and development through pilot programs to create C2H.  Naturally, we believe it is one of the finest – if not the best – approaches to helping people grow!

We want to help change the trend of a compromised life!  Look at our website at www.champions2heroes.com to see how we do it, then call us immediately to sign up to become a Champion 2 Hero!!!

David Dickerson

Decision Making

Twenty Principles for Making Sound Decisions

1. Research the subject as thoroughly as possible.
2. Consider the information you have assembled.
3. Seek out Godly counsel but sift it carefully.
4. Pray for wisdom and direction.
5. Listen to the Holy Spirit and your conscience.
6. Follow your convictions.
7. Decide what you really want to do but don’t let emotion rule.
8. What does your experience teach you about this decision?
9. Don’t react, but act boldly.
10. Prioritize options.
11. Ask yourself if this is the core decision that needs to be made first which will unlock the other smaller decisions that follow.
12. Develop an action plan.
13. Execute your plan.
14. Adjust your plan as necessary.
15. Persist with your plans and do not give up too quickly.
16. Establish a time frame for evaluation of the decision to be made – urgent vs. important.
17. Own your decision and do not blame others for bad outcomes.
18. Determine in advance that you will you measure the correctness of your decision – based on  process followed and not expected outcome.
19. Remember failure is not fatal but it is inevitable when you are doing anything.
20. Lead your decision.  Remember that not making a decision is actually making a decision – don’t procrastinate.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."  ~ James 1:5 NIV


Daniel Southern

Tebow the Terrific

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” — John 3:16 (NIV)

When Tim Tebow threw for 316 yards in the Wild Card playoff against Pittsburgh, it launched a viral buzz over one of his favorite verses; John 3:16.  If you search for John 3:16 on Google - in 0.11 seconds more than 104 million search results pop up.

Ironically, it took all of 11 seconds for Tim Tebow's Denver Broncos to score a huge upset in overtime Sunday night against the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers defense.

Tebow — a devout Christian who wore the Bible reference  “John 3:16” painted on his eye blacks during the 2009 NCAA National Championship game — finished with 316 yards.

And if that wasn't enough…

Tebow's per-throw average: 31.6 yards.

Sunday's overtime TV rating: 31.6.

Pittsburgh's time of possession: 31 minutes, 6 seconds.

Always one to deflect credit, Tebow did not mention the similarities of the 316 passing yards and one of his favorite verses in Sunday's post-game press conference, but he was quick to give God the glory.

"First and foremost, I just want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ," Tebow said. "He's done so much in my life."

So here is my question:  when is everyone going to actually start accepting that what we are seeing in Tebow’s life is real and that he deserves a little personal credit for standing strong for his beliefs?

You can’t help but like the guy; his talent cannot be denied and he is winning.  So why don’t the pundits back off and just enjoy what’s happening?  I guess they want him to fail or maybe even worse they hate anyone who is truly a class act.  If Tim was a scumbag, they wouldn’t have anything negative to say about him, because he wasn’t trying to be better.  I am personally sick of the negative role models and delighted to see someone out there who is worth cheering for.

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." ~ Teddy Roosevelt

If you want to understand his perspective on what's going on in his life or how he looks at life, get your copy of Tim Tebow's book Through My Eyes.  The book is available just about everywhere.

by Daniel Southern

Tree

Using a chain saw, I strategically cut a little wedge from a tree at my summer cottage. It was less than 10 inches across ... and a 40 year old tree that was more than 75 feet tall ... came crashing down in a matter of minutes. 

I got to thinking about how little things can swiftly bring down a life that has seemed to stand strong for many years. Pay attention to the little things in your life. Seldom do we see one act that will precipitously determine everything; it is more likely going to be the sum of many small acts which determine the final product of our life.

Habit is an important way of building a legacy of which we can be proud.  What do you find yourself doing on a regular and consistent basis? Building good habits is a little trick of the trade that can yield a very satisfying result over the long-haul.  Have you made certain commitments to yourself that you try to never violate? For example, I try to never say “No” to a panhandler so I carry around something ready to give when I am likely to encounter one. And I always try to engage the person on the plane sitting next to me with a positive message... and many more.

Usually we associate “habits” with the bad in our life, but this need not necessarily be the case. Just as little bad things add up, so do the small good things. The way we treat people all day long when no one is looking or the little kindnesses will all come back to bless us in the end. No good deed is wasted and no harm will be overlooked. There is a day of accountability facing each one of us but we are never sure when it will arrive. Remember that we are not judged by our inconsistency but by our consistency.   What are you known for – what is your hallmark?

Little faults can bring you down but small acts of kindness will build you up.

"The good man shall be like a tree planted by streams of water who bears his fruit in season. His leaves will not whither and whatever he does will prosper. The wicked will not stand in the judgment but are like the chaff which the wind blows away."


Daniel Southern

Too Late?

“I am not afraid of death; I just don't want to be there when it happens.” ~ Woody Allen

He was born "Faroukh Bulsara" in Zanzibar, and he died "Freddie Mercury", in a six million dollar home in London. 

On November 24, 1991, the announcement came: "Freddie Mercury died peacefully this evening at his home at 1 Logan Place, Kensington, London. His death was the result of pneumonia brought on by AIDS."

On October 8th, 1988, rock superstar and Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury appeared at the enormous open air La Nit festival in Barcelona, Spain - singing three duets with Montserrat Caballe the international opera diva. This was the last time he performed onstage, because he was terribly ill with AIDS and didn't want people to know about it. Although very sick, he told no one and continued to compose, record and take part in making videos.

From 1988 through 1991, there were many media rumors that Freddie Mercury had AIDS, but these were denied until November 23rd, 1991 when he released the following statement: "Following enormous conjecture in the press, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS. I felt it correct to keep this information private in order to protect the privacy of those around me. However, the time has now come for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth, and I hope everyone will join me, my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease."  Freddie Mercury died the next day.

During his life, Mercury wove his sexual confusion into his art, recording a cover of Buck Ram's classic "The Great Pretender" (and appearing in drag in the song's video):

"Oh oh, yes I'm the great pretender
Just laughing and gay like a clown 
I seem to be what I'm not you see 
I'm wearing my heart like a clown
Too real when I feel what my heart can't conceal."

Freddie knew life was fragile but never slowed down.  When asked, what he would be doing in twenty years' time, He quickly answered "I'll be dead, darling! Are you crazy?"

Freddie Mercury was a singular musical talent whose residue speaks for itself.  Yet he was confused and aimless beyond the moment in which he lived.  His life is tragic and leaves us feeling empty.  Like the lyrics he wrote for Momma:

"It's too late, my time has come
Send shivers down my spine.
Body's aching all the time.
Goodbye everybody, I've got to go
gotta leave you all behind and fade away.

Mamma, oeoeoeoe
I don't wanne die, I sometimes wish 
I'd never been born at all."

On another occasion he added, "When I'm dead, I want to be remembered as a musician of some worth and substance.” And then, "Who wants to live forever?"

Freddie really did want to live forever but just as we all do, he soon learned, he would not. Only the legend lives on in our hearts and minds.  He was amazing but didn't plan ahead so he could attain immortality.

What is your legacy?  Are you planning ahead?  What will you leave behind and what will be your future?  It's never too late to rethink the strategy by which you live your life until it's over; then you are stuck with it!

"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." ~ James Dean

by Daniel Southern

Why Champions2Heroes?

Just yesterday morning, I read in the June 12^th edition of Parade Magazine the special report on “Teens and Extreme Drinking.”  This cover story began with the experience that the parents of an 18 year old “honor student and athlete.”  This student had been away from home only two weeks to begin her freshman year of college when she called home with a frantic plea for help.  To make the long story short, she had become so seriously inebriated that she didn’t know where she was.  When her parents called campus security, who finally found her, “she had fallen and broken her nose, she was so intoxicated that she hadn’t realized it.”

The article goes on to say this student had become involved in an alarming phenomenon that is a growing trend among young people – “what is new – and increasingly alarming to those confronting the issue – “ the article continued, “is the rising trend of extreme underage drinking…adolescents tend to drink differently than adults.  Their goal is not to sit around enjoying a glass or two of wine over the course of an evening.  Rather, for many teens, the point is to get as drunk as possible, as quickly and cheaply as possible….”  Here’s another quote from the article:  “If you think your kids are immune, think again.  According to the CDC, about 90% of all teen alcohol consumption occurs in the form of binge drinking, which experts say, peaks at age 19.”  Finally, the article reports that more than 1,700 college students die each year from drinking-related causes.  A captioned headline also found in the article reports that “90% of all alcohol consumed by teens is done while binge drinking.”

Here’s where a movement like Champions2Heroes comes in pretty handy.  While we can’t guarantee that we can stop things like this from happening, though we wish we could, we do provide three very potent and proven ingredients that sure can help!  In our Mental Training Camp we begin by helping each participant understand the importance of “Top of the Head Thinking” – actually practicing the art of “thinking BEFORE you make a potentially fatal decision.”  Tied to this is our NeuroSport Myers Briggs Type Indicator Profile and an emphasis on developing a written Personal Mission Statement (PMS) or Personal Constitution (PC).  These tools are a great beginning point to help anyone from a student to a professional person to begin the process of making “Top of the Head Thinking” work for you.

Secondly, we match each one of our people up with a highly trained and experienced mentor for a weekly scheduled two hours of face-to-face conversation.  In these weekly meetings, the mentor and mentee discuss ways to stay the course in decision-making, helps his mentee develop a deeper and keener awareness of his Personal Mission Statement or Personal Constitution, and they talk together on ways to wisely use their PMS / PC.  For example, if a student writes that he wants to be a young man of integrity, they talk extensively on ways to make decisions based on that ideal.

Here is another important facet of our work in Champions2Heroes:  We work directly with each of our folks to help them develop and learn to use an effective “Recovery System.”  While ideals like “living a life of integrity” are to be highly prized, we know that it is just a fact of human nature to drift off course from time to time.  There are literally thousands of temptations that each of us face every day of our lives that can easily distract us and cause us to potentially violate some of the most cherished values we hold!  In the Parade magazine article we cited earlier, one of the things “Parents Can Do” is to “Establish a code word” before the kids go out.  This is to be used in “an uncomfortable situation” in which they can “give a signal to come and get them right away, no questions asked.”  Our “Recovery System” is set up so that each of the folks we work with can know their mentor is “on call,” and can help them make a potentially “better decision” by talking directly, asking “hard questions” but without any sense of judgmentalism.  The article also points that “parents who combine clear expectations of accountability with support and warmth have more success” with their kids.  This is exactly the attitude we expect from each of our trained mentors.  They’re nearby, so they can be reached and help at any time!

Check out our website at www.champions2heroes.com, and then give us a call!

David Dickerson

Core Values

There is a word that people often use that is sometimes translated as virtue … “it represents a combination of skill, wisdom, power, and steadfastness for good that makes it very attractive” (Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy)

When we think of the “core values” for Champions2Heroes, these are some of the concepts that first come to mind:

1.     Development of skills for honest and important living, for clear-minded and clean-hearted decision-making;

2.     Learning to apply wisdom in those daily decisions, whether small or great;

3.     Establishing a power-base that is uncompromised – that is rooted in integrity

4.     Showing steadfastness for good in our dealings with both friends and acquaintances.

As the most rapidly growing group in the Cornerstone Lodge Leadership Ministries organization (a non-profit, 501(c)3 corporation) Champions2Heroes is founded on some proven and timeless principles that are taught in the Christian traditions of faith. We live in a day when there seems to be a diminishing sense of recognizing moral knowledge and moral development. Lots of people just don’t live as well as they’d like to. In one survey, only 14% of the people surveyed said they were happy with the way they were living. Only 7% of them had ever written down any goals of what they thought were the most important beliefs they held. We’ve met many people who are struggling after making decisions they really didn’t want to make – and who realized they needed to make a better one – and then have reported feeling really lousy after making that really unhealthy decision!

Because of this, we’ve set up C2H with the awareness that character is very closely connected with how we’re “wired.” We’ve seen that both men and women of all ages and in all walks of life are being more and more drawn to following their emotions than learning and practicing what we’re calling “Top of the Head” thinking. And, well, we just had to do something to help people fix this!

So, our core values are pretty simply wrapped up in a couple of bits of wisdom found in Scripture. In one place, they are described as seeking “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.” The writer even says “there is no law against any of these.” In another place is says it this way: If you begin with the measure of “basic faith” you already possess, and add “good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love,” you’re promised that your life will be “on a firm footing” with the streets paved and the way wide open” to success! Even more, it actually says, “you’ll never fail!” Wow! I like that promise!

At C2H, we like to stress that character is really important. Our Mental Training Boot Camp focuses on helping each person we work alongside to do 3 important things:

1.     Learn how you ARE “wired” – we give you a really easy-to-understand personality profile and some good feedback to let you see this special brain-wiring you have!

2.     We help you begin to write your Personal Mission Statement (PMS) or Personal Constitution (PC) -whatever you want to call it is OK with us. It’s just something you’ve put into writing that helps you begin that “Top of the Head Thinking” that will help pave your way to REAL success.

  

3.     Then we give you a person who will walk alongside you for a few months to assist you to reach the goals you’ve decided are important. This helper (we call them “Mentors”) will also help you establish your own personalized “recovery system” to help you stay on track!

Next time I blog, I’ll share more details about just how the program works….how long each part takes, what it costs… all those details. But in the mean time, I think these are some pretty darn good basics for our core values! Do you think so, too? Let me hear from you!

David Dickerson

Co-founder of C2H